Roller-coaster nuclear diplomacy between the United States and North Korea has hit highs and lows as the countries' top diplomats traded polite words and barbs, leaving efforts to rid the North of its atomic weapons at an uncertain juncture

Chinese and Southeast Asian naval forces have staged their first computer-simulated drills so they can jointly respond to emergencies and to build trust amid the long-seething disputes in the South China Sea

China's top diplomat says an initial draft of a proposed pact with Southeast Asia aimed at preventing fighting in the disputed South China Sea was a "breakthrough," and that talks can accelerate without outside interference

Southeast Asian nations are expected to welcome an initial negotiating draft of a nonaggression pact with China on the South China Sea, but critics warn that the talks provide a diplomatic cover for Beijing